So Darkness I Became
by myowntimelord
Summary: AU for the moment Elena met Damon. One-shot? Delena, ofc.


**A/N: Idea I got from Eli Lieb's cover of Cosmic Love. I wanted to tell their story but from Damon's side of it. AU. What if when Damon had compelled Elena to forget him, she'd had vervain in her system? She and her family have just come from Uncle John's, and he as a precaution always slips vervain into their food because he is paranoid about the existence of vampires. Ergo, Damon tries to compel her, but it doesn't work. He doesn't realize it until after the fact and events take a turn in a different direction. Delena always. **

"Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet," he whispered with a smile. I returned the smile and stood there, arms folded across my chest, as I watched the dark-haired man walk away into the night. Once he was out of sight, I let out the breath I had been holding and ran a hand through my smooth tresses. My brows pulled together in a frown over what had just happened. She didn't understand it and definitely couldn't explain it. The way the strange man with the impossibly blue eyes—Damon, I corrected myself. Damon is his name.—had spoken somewhat oddly to my and then practically walked right away. _"And what do I want, Damon?" "You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger…I want you to get everything you're looking for. But for right now, I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet. Goodnight, Elena." _He wanted me to forget? I couldn't just forget on command as if it were some spell I was under. I couldn't forget it now if I tried. In fact, I vividly remembered every detail of their meeting, and as soon as I got home, it was going right in my diary. _What a strange man,_ I thought to myself.

"Elena? We're leaving!" My father called from the car. With one last glance towards the woods, I turned and jogged back to join my parents. They asked what took me so long, but I smoothly evaded their questions as I closed the door and buckled myself in. As the car pulled away into the night, I looked out the window into the pitch darkness wondering if I would ever see that man again.

* * *

_The last thing I remembered was a screeching squeal and the smell of burning rubber as my father swerved to avoid something in the roadway. The car swerved and hit the side of the bridge with enough force to flip and cascade into the water below. They hit the water with a loud crashing splash. I fought to disentangle myself from the ruin as the water quickly filled the totaled vehicle. The buckle was jammed, however, and even all of my strength couldn't break it loose. Fear sank its claws into my racing heart as the water rose and my head slipped underwater. I began to suffocate, unable to breath with the water in my lungs. Soon, I lost consciousness and then, the darkness took my. _

"Elena! Elena?" Someone was shaking me. I slowly opened my eyes and blinked a few times. My eyes began to drift closed again, but he shook me again, tapping my cheek. "Elena, hey. Now is not a good time to go beddy bye, sweetheart. Come on." My eyes flew open. I coughed violently, spewing up water and gasped for breath. As my lungs sucked in the air for a much needed breath, pain ripped through my side. It brought me to the jolting realization that a piece of metal from the wreckage had essentially skewered my side and left a wound which now bled profusely.

"I can't—I-I can't breathe," I gasped, shutting my eyes tightly against the sharp pain that shot through me with each word. The arms embracing me scooped my up and cradled my. My head lolled against his chest.

"This is unfortunate," he muttered under his breath. "Hold on, Elena." He shifted my in his arms and brought his wrist to his lips. When he lowered it to my mouth, a thin rivulet of blood dripped from it and spilled onto my lips. Barely conscious, I jerked at the coppery taste and recognized it on the spot. I wasn't strong enough to resist anyway. Instead, he held his bleeding wrist to my lips and tilted my head up to help my swallow. Slowly, the pain in my side began to fade and it was almost as if I could feel the vitality returning to me.

"No, w-what are you doing?" I mumbled, turning my head away as best I could. Blood dribbled down the side of my face, and I shuddered instinctively, using what little strength I had to push myself away. His arms tightened around me, locking me in place. "I'm trying to help you," he grunted, wiping the blood from my mouth.

"With your blood?" I snapped, my brows angling downward. I looked up at him in a mixture of disgust and surprise. Shock reverberated through me. It was Damon, the man I'd met earlier. His blue eyes were cold and distant now, like hardened ice as he looked at me. Something I couldn't recognize glinted in their depths, but I was too upset and confused to bother figuring it out. I still felt the coppery tang on my tongue, and my stomach turned. What on earth was happening to me today? "What are you, a vampire?" I spat out. He said nothing, but the muscles in his jaw tightened. "This isn't twilight. Let go of me." I dropped my gaze to my hands as I pushed at him again, fighting to get as far away from him as possible. "Let. _Go_. Of me," I repeated.

He relented finally and let go. I squirmed away from him and got to my feet, dusting myself off. I looked at him again, and for a flash of a second, the ice in his eyes was gone. It had been replaced by something of a softer nature; concern? I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath and released it slowly, opening my eyes. When I looked down at myself and lifted the hem of my shirt, I found that there was no longer a gaping wound in my side. The blood was still there, sticking to my skin, but the flesh beneath it was smooth. "How did you—How did you do that?"

"Before you ask, I don't sparkle," he said from a distance. I looked up to see him leaning on the side of the bridge, looking down into the water. Water. My parents. My heart went from zero to sixty and insisted on beating its way out of my chest as a slew of emotions overtook me.

"My parents!" I cried, running to the edge of the bridge. I leaned up on my elbows and looked down at the water, trying to see if I could spot the car under the dark water. "What happened? Where are my parents? Did you pull them out, too?" I threw question after question at Damon, as if I expected him to know the answers. He wouldn't meet my gaze. Why did that worry me? "Please. They're all I have. Are they safe?" My voice shook with the tears I was trying to hide, but it was quickly failing me. A few droplets slid down my face as Damon gave no answer.

"Elena, I'm sorry. I couldn't reach them. By the time I'd rescued you, they were already gone," he said softly, turning to face me. I didn't hear anything after "sorry". In fact, I heard nothing at all. It felt as if I'd been wrapped in cotton; any other noise sounded muffled and distorted. Pain blossomed in my chest as I _felt_ my heart tearing itself to pieces, breaking apart and shattering. Tears fell unhindered down my cheeks, and I dropped to my knees, sobbing. My shoulders shook with the force of my weeping. I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging myself as I let the tears fall. There was nothing for me, anymore. When I told Damon they were all I had, I meant it. I had no one at all, and the burden of that came crashing down on me. I didn't have the strength to bear it—how does a 17-year-old girl just walk away from something like this? I rocked back and forth, quiet now but still shaking. I felt _numb_. As cold as when he'd pulled me from the water.

"I can't. I can't do this," I ground out to no one in particular.

"It's late. Tell ya what, you can stay at my place until morning," Damon said after some thought. I lifted my gaze to his, sniffling and nodded.

"Thank you. I'll see if I can call my aunt. I think she lives here," I remarked and tried to get to my feet. My knees wobbled and threatened to give way, but before I could clatter to the ground, Damon was there and held me steady. I looked to him in surprise, arching an eyebrow.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just a bit shaken. Uh, Damon?"

"Elena?" I looked down at my hands, anywhere but his face because I didn't feel as if I could quite look him in the eye for some reason.

"Thank you."

**A/N: So. Thoughts? Should I continue or should I not?  
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**P.s. I WILL be continuing Stuck in Reverse (now have more time and no classes to finish so yay fanfiction writing)  
**

**Reviews encourage me to write more and reviews are love, so please, don't be a read and run. **


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